Swinging buffer and draft rigging.



A. GHRIS TIANSONQ SWING ING BUFFER A ND DRAFT RIGGING.

IAPPLIOATIONI'ILED JANJI, 1909.

Patented May .13, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

WITNESSES. fl. 71 x A. CHRISTIANSON. SWINGING BUFFER AND DRAFT RIGGING.

APPLIOATI mm) 1909" Patented May 13, 1913 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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Limw nmw M ANDREW CHRISTIANSON, or BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB '10 STANDARD STEEL can COMPANY, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, [A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA.

SVIINGING BUFFER, AND DRAFT RIGGING.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that 1'. ANDREw CHRISTIAN- soN, citizen of the United States, a resident of Butler, in the county of Butler and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Swinging Butter and Draft Rigging; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to swinging or radial bufi'er and draft rigging for railroads, its object being to provide a strong and simple form of such rigging, having certain special features of construction, for example, the same casing supporting both the buffer and the coupler; the same spring draft gear receiving the main bufling strains of both the buffer and coupler and taking all the draft strains upon the coupler; the parts being so connected. as to preventlost motion in con nection with the mounting of the rigging Within the car; means being provided for the operation of the coupler from the platform when so mounted to swing with the rigging; and simple means being provided for the swinging of the combined buffer and draft rigging corresponding to the movement of the truck, so as to carry the same to about the center line of the track and provide for proper coupling on the curves.

The invention comp generally stated, a swinging casing mounted within the un dertrame and having guide-ways for both the butter shaft and the coupler bur'or shaft and a seat or'pocltct for the main draft gear, the buffe and coupler mounted in this casing and connections between the same and the draft gear by which the main bullion, strains and all the draft strains are transinitted to such draft near. it also conr prises improvements in the construction of the casing in the method of mounting the same in the underrame, and in other parts as hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accmnpanying' drawings Figure l is a plan view illustrating the construct on of the apparatus, the floor of the car he partly removed; Fig. is a. longitudinal ccn-- tral section on the line of Fig. 1; rig. ES-is a horizontal s' tion on the line i-L -h Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a in view of the swinging casing showing the connection between the draft gear and the draw bar; Fig, 5 is a de- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 11, 1909.

Patent-edMay13, 1913.

Serial No.471,757.

tailed cross section on the line 55, Fig; 3;

and Fig. 6 is a detail incross section on the ployed for freight or passenger service. It is illustrated in connection with a passenger car and will be so described. The apparatus may be mounted in any suitable underfraine, that shown in the drawings being suitable for passenger car construction and forming the subject matter of a separate application of even date herewith, Serial No. 471,755. As illustrated it has the sides 1, center sills 2, and bolsters 3, the center sills as illus trated being formed of channel beams which project through the bolster and are carried to the end sill r, the center sills 2 being parallel to a point beyond. the bolsters while their outer ends are spread into flaring pon tions, as at 5, and have connectedtherewith the Z-bar extensions (3 support-ingvtheplatform sill 7, which, as shown is of pressed channel construction with curved outer face, the mid-portion of which is made on a vproper radius from the pivot 8 'of the draft rigging, such platform sill extending out to the car side and as illustrated the steps 9 being suitably supported between the end sill l and said platform sill, while the platbar extensions of the center sills, such spreading sills giving; space for the swinging IUOYQIllOl'lt oft-he draft rigging.

'lhe butter and draft rigging are carried by a main casing 10 which is mounted in the pivot casting" ll supported between and riveted to the center sills Q'at the point where the said sills are spread, as at 5, the 'ti'rrward portion of said pivot casting being '85- form sill is supported by the spreading Z- 1 spread as at ii to give space for the casing'- .10. i'ho casing 10 is supported atthe forward end by the segmental framelf'l which is serul'cd within the platform sill, said sill 7 having; a top plate 14 riveted thereto and a top se, ;'incntal casting 15, said two castings being riveted to each other and to the platform sill. T and to the forward ends of the l'laring Z-bar sills (3 where said flaring sills and platform sills meet, and the segmental 'rasliu;1,--: 1 3 and 15 forming aguiding space ininating .6 within which the forward end of the asing 10 travels and is supported, said casing preferably having the anti-friction roll ers 17 bearing upon the lower segmental casting 13 to reduce friction between the same. The main casing 10 has the guide-way 18 for the butter shaft 19, said guide-way terin the enlarged intermediate guide-way 20 and having back of the same the draft rigging pocket 21, said casing extending back of said draft rigging pocket and having a sen'ii-circular strap 22 enveloping the rear face of the pivot 23 and forming the portion of the pivot bearing of the casing. The casing extends down below the guide-way 18 and back of the segmental.

casting l3, as at 24, and supports the draw bar guide-way 25, the buffer-bar guide-way 18 and the draw-bar guide-way 25 being on the same vertical plane, so as to cause both buffer and coupler to swing together. In said lnain casing 10 is mounted the buffer 26 with its buffer bar 19 fitting within the guide-wayll8 and extending into the enlarged space 20 where it contacts with the bearing plate 27 which, when compressed, contacts with the front draft plate 28 of the draft rigging 29, said draft plate 28 having a sleeve portion 30 extending within the intermediate guide-wa 20 in which is confined the primary bu er spring 31, which takes the first thrust of the buffer through the plate 27.

The buffer bar 19 has a longitudinal slot or key-way 32 formed therein within which fits the key 33 for confining the butfer within the main casing, the slots 32 being of sufficient length to give full movement to the same. Any suitable form of draft gear maybe employed, a suit-able spring draft gear 29 being illustrated as fitting within the pocket 21 between the front draft plate 28 and the rear draft plate 34. The rear plate has an extension 36 fitting within the casing'20, such extension terminating in the concave bearing face 37 bearing upon the pivot 23. It will thus be seen that the draft gear by pressure upon the rear draft plate 34 holds its bearing face 37 in contact with the pivot, while. by pressure upon the front plate 28 of thecasin which engages the front wall'38 of the poo ct 21, holds the rear bearing face 22 of the main casing in close contact with the pivot 23, so preventing ratthng, lost motion and taking up wear,

. etc.

The coupler 39 has its draw bar 40 which may be of ordinary rectangular form and is mounted within the guide-way 25 in the main casing 10 and operates upon the primary draw-bar compression spring 41 to aid the buffer in sustaining compression strains. To connect the coupler with the draft rigging 29 I provide the straps 42 titting on both sides of the m'a'in casing 10, the

with the coupler or its draw-bar. ,In like manner the rear draft plate34 of the draft gear has a seat 35 formed therein for the reception of the transverse pin 46, which is connected to the rear ends ofthe straps 42 and slides within the longitudinal slots or key-ways 47 in the main casing. The straps 42 which are held on a slight incline thus connect the draft gear 29 with the coupler and enable said draft gear to sustain all. draft strains brought upon the same.

The main operative parts are thus all supported within the main casing 10, which can be of narrow width and so obtain all the necessary swmg between the spreading draft sills 5, 6, supporting the buffer on the same horizontal plane as said sills, said casing supporting both buffer and coupler and the sustaining of all .strains brought upon them. For example, the compression strains brought upon the buffer and coupler are first sustained by the spring 31 in the guideway 20 and the spring 41 in the draw-bar guide-way 25 and the ina'in or heavier strains are transmitted from the bufler-bar to the front draft plate 28 of the draft gear 29; and the draft strains upon the"coupler are sustained by said draft gear 29 through the straps 42 connected to the draw' bar 40; while at the same time any lost motion and wear between the swinging casing and its pivot are also cared for by the draft gear as above described.

While any suitable pivot may be employed, in order to fully sustain the draft strains I prefer the pivot construction illustrated, the pivot 23 consisting of a hollow pin having its upper end fitting within the pivot seat 50 of the pivot-casting 11 and supported Within said pivot casting 11 by the bolt 51, the head 52 of which fits within the hollow portion and projects up through the casting 11, being held by a suitable nut 53. Such pivot pin 23 has formed at the base thereof thehorizontal flange 54: extending backwardly from the main body and having the radial. segmental rib 55 formed on its upper face which extends into a like radial seat 56 formed in the pivot castin 11. Said pivot casting 11 which is secure 3 to the center sills as above stated, thus sustains all draft strains on the pivot pin 23 bythe seating of said pin within the bearing 50 above the main casing 10 and withinthe segmental radial seat 56 below the same.

The pin 23 can be easily withdrawn downwardly by the loosening of the supporting bolt 51 and this permits the loweringof the rear end of the main casing 10 so'that after the withdrawal of the buffer from the main casing 10 that casing with the other parts of the draft gear can easily be withdrawn from the underframe. It is. of course, necessary that the buffershall have a top telescoping plate 57, which in the present case is rivetedto the top face of the buffer, which in its preferred form is rigid with its buffer-banbeing of suitable width to support such plate according to the swinging action of the buffer in passing around curves, etc. Said telescoping plate 57 travels on top of the top plate 14 of the piatforin end sill 7 and passes under the supplemental top plate 58 extending from the platform floor 59 forward over said telescoping plate 57 which travels within the space 60.

Any suitable connections may be em- "ployed between the swinging draft rigging and the truck-to movesaid draft rigging in substantial unison with the truck so that in case of coupling upon a curve the draft rigging will be held on practically proper lines for coupling. For this purpose I prefer to employ the chain or rope 61 connected to a depending lug 62 on the main casing 10 back of the end silla and passing around a sheave 63 mounted on the side 1 of the underframe and to a suitable compression spring 64: from which the bar 65 extends back and is connected to the bracket- 66 mounted at, any suitable place on the truck, preferably about themid-portion thereof. As'the truck in conforming to the curve of the track is thus swun from side to side it draws the buffer and draft, rigging with it, the spring 64 compensating for any difference in swing between the buffer and draftrigging and the truck, such as on account of the different points of pivoting.

In the operation of the apparatus it is evident that the cars may be coupled no mat ter at what angle their bodies may stand with relation to each other, the swinging truck carrying the buffer and coupler into proper position for coupling, so that the buffers of the two cars to be coupled will be substantially parallel and the couplers will be held in proper position to couple, the .difi'iculty of coupling on an angle being entirely overcome. I am also enabled in this way to employ a bulfer which is rigid with its bufi'er bar as distin uished from the prior art where the bill er is pivoted on the end of its buffer bar, a stronger and more durable construction being obtained. When the cars are coupled, through the mounting of the buffer within a narrowcasing, which in turn is mounted to swing within thecar frame, I amcnabled to arrange said casing on the same plane as the main body of the underframe, this being accomplished first through the employment of the narrow bodied casing supporting the buffer,

and next, through the employment of the spreading platform sills which, as illus-' provide a. very compact arrangement of the support not only of the buffer but. of the coupler and its draw'bar by supporting the coupler below the buffer, and I am also enabled to give full support to the main casing carrying both bufier and draw-bar and locate them both on the proper levels by the segmental frame fitting between the buffer guide-way and the draw-bar guideway, as shown, and at the same time bracing the end of the platform and uniting the ends of the spreading platform sills.

The apparatus also provides for the taking up of all strains in a very economical way, enabling the main draft gear to take the draft strains and the main bufler strains, while the primary bufling strains are sustained by both the bufler-bar and the coupler through the primary springs withinthe buffer and coupler guide-Ways. The main swinging frame is also securely mounted in the underframe in an eflicient way, the pivot pin being supported against longitudinal strain both above and below such frame and the firm bearing of the main casing upon the pivot pin is insured through the main draft gear, the rear plate of which 9 presses upon the rear draft plate 34 which through its extension, 36 and bearing face 37 bears on the pivot pin, while the front draft plate by contacting with the shoulders 38 of the main' casing draws on the strap 22, forming thus through the said strap 22 and the bearing face" 37 a firm bearing on the pivot pin bywhich rattling is -prevented and all wear properly taken ,up, the draft gear thus serving three purposes. A very simple connection'is made between the truck and the swingingbufier and draft rigging which is out of the way, which is adapted to carry the same with the movement of the truck and yet provides a yieldingconstruo tion to adapt the truck and bulfer to accommodate themselves to the relative positions and to differences of angles arising from the difference of pivotal points of the same.

Part of the mechanism described is applicable for use in connectionwvith'a separate swinging buffer or separate draft rigging. Except where the claims are specially limited'they are intended to include either.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a car under frame, of a swinging casing mounted there'- in, said casing having two guide-ways in the same vertical plane, one for the buffer shaft and one for the draw bar shaft, and a buffer and a draw bar mounted in said guide-ways respectively.

2. The combination with an underframe, of a swinging casing mounted therein, havinga seat for thedraft rigging, and guideways for the buffer-shaft and draw bar shaft res ectively on the same vertical plane, a bu er and a draw bar mounted insaid guideways, respectively, draft rigging mounted in the draft rigging seat and connections from both buffer and draw bar to said draft rigging.

3. The combination with an underframe, of aswinging casing mounted therein, having a seat for the draftrigging, a buffer and a draw bar, andzguide-wa ys for the buffer shaft and draw bar shaft respectively on the same vertical plane, draft rigging mounted in the draft rlg ing seat and having draft plates, the bu er shaft operating on the forward draft rigging plate, and the draw bar being connected to the rear draft rigging plate. I

4. The combination with an underframe, of a' casing mounted to swing therein, said casing having a draft rigging pocket, and

having in. line therewith a buffer barguideway and below the same a draw bar guideway, draft rigging plates, a buffer bar mounted in its guide-way operating on the front draft rigging plate and a draw bar mounted in its guide-way and having connections to the rear draft rigging plate.

5. The combination with an underframe, of a casing mounted to swing therein, said casing having a draft rigging pocket and in front of same, a buffer bar guide-way, and a draft bar gu1de-way below the same, a draft rigging mounted in said draft pocket, and having draft plates, a buffer bar mounted in its guide-Way and operating upon the front draft plate, a draw bar mounted in its guide-way, and straps fitting on both sides of the casing and connecting the draft bar with the rear draft plate.

6.- The combination with an underframe, of a casing mounted to swing therein and having a draft pocket and a draw bar guide-way with a closed rear end, draft rigging mounted in said pocket and having a rear draft plate, a draft bar mounted in said guide-way, connections from the rear plate of the draft rigging to the draw bar, and a separate compression spring confined within the draw bar guide-way back of the draw bfir.

7. The combination with an underframe, of a casing mounted therein, said casing having a draft bar guide way and a draft pocket, draft rigging mounted in said pocket and having a rear draft plate, a draw bar mounted in its guide-way and straps fitting on both sides of the casing and connecting the draft bar with said rear draft plate.

8. The combination with an under-frame, of a casing mounted therein, said casing having a draft guide-wag? and a draft pocket in different horizontal planes, draft rigging mounted in said pocket and having a rear draft plate, a draw bar mounted in its guide-way and straps fitting on both sides of the casing and connecting the draw bar with said rear draft plate.

9. The combination with a car underframe, of a casing mounted therein having a seat for the draft gear and in front of the same a guide-way for the buffer shaft, a buffer shaft mounted therein and operating on the forward draft gear plate, a draw bar.mounted in said casing and connections between the rear draft gear plate and said draw bar.

10. The combination with a car underframe, of a swinging casing mounted therein and having a seat for the draft gear and a guide-way for the draw-bar, a pin mounting the casing in the underframe,,and a rear draft gear plate having an extension hearing upon said pin.

11. The combination with a car underframe, of a swinging casing mounted therein having at its rear end a bearing face inclosing the pin, a pin fitting within and against said face, a draft gear in the draft gear seat and a rear draft plate having a rearwardly extending bearing face contacting with such pivot pin.

12. The combination with a car underframe, of a swinging casing mounted therein, said casing having an inclosing bearing face, a pivot pin fitting within said bearing-face, and a separate spring controlled plate mounted-within the casing and having a bearing face bearing on said pivot.

13. The combination with an underframe,

of a swinging casing mounted therein having a rear bearing face, 'a hollow pivot pin fitting within said bearing face, and a depending bolt sustaining the hollow pin within such bearing.

14. The combination with an underframe, of a swinging casing mounted therein having a rear bearing face fitting in a seat in the underframe, a hollow pivot pin fitting within said bearing face of the swinging casing, and a suaporting bolt extending through the underframc above the pivot pin and sustaining the pivot pin within such seat.

15. The combination of a car underframe having a main pivot casting secured therein, a main casing mounted in said pivot casting, a seat in said pivot casting above the main casing, and a pivot pin having its upper portion fitting in said seat of the main pivot casting, and means forsupporting such pivot pin in said seat.

16. The combination of a car underframe having a main pivot casting secured therein, a main casing mounted in said pivot casting, a seat in said pivot casting above the main casing, and a hollow pivot pin entering from below through the main casing and having its upper portion fitting in pivot pin in said casting.

17. The combination With an underframe having a pivot casting, of a draw bar casing mounted therein said pivot casting having a concentric seat extending part Way around its lower face and a pi' ot pin seat above the seat for the main casing and a pivot pin having a lip fitting in said concentric seat below the mounting of the main casing and having its upper portion seated in the pivot pin seat above the mounting of said main casing.

18. The combination of an underframe having a pivot casting, of a main casing mounted therein, said pivot casting having back of the pivot point of said casing a concentric seat extending part Way around vsaid casting, and a pivot pin fitting within the main casing and having a lip engaging with such concentric seat in the pivot cast. ing.

In testimony whereof, I the said ANDREW Cnms'rmxsox have hereunto set my hand.

ANDREXV CHRISTIANSON \Vitnesscs:

ROBERT C. ToTTEN, J OHN F. WVILL. 

